pappythom, sorry, just realized I misspelled your name in my last post.

. . . . . . . .

Republicans joined Democrats Monday in paying tribute to Mr. Murtha's long service, military record and support for the Pentagon. "I have never seen a more valiant defender of the men and women of our armed forces, nor a more steadfast advocate for our country's unequaled national defense," said Rep. Jerry Lewis (R., Calif.), the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee.

. . . . . . . .

Vietnam War veteran

Advocate for military and for his Pennsylvania district

Spoke out against the Iraq War

Suspected involvement in Abscam

Lobbying irregularities - not accused of wrongdoing

Not a perfect man but not all that bad either - about par for the course in Washington (and Ottawa), I'd say. I sense a disconnect between his record as briefly described above, which includes praise from his political adversaries, and his portrayal on this forum as some kind of monster; certainly not someone of whom it was said here, "I hope he dies".

Osama bin Laden, Timothy McVeigh, okay, I could understand.